Prior to the arrival of the Mughals in the Indian subcontinent, the first instance of Islamic conquest of the region was during the 10th century when

Mahmud Ghaznavi Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

conquered Kangra. After the entry of the Mughals into the subcontinent, the region fell to Mughal authority as well. Later, due to internal conflicts within the Mughal dynasty the rulers of the hill provinces took complete advantage. Kangra regained its independence under Maharaja Sansar Chand who ruled for nearly 50 years. He was one of the most powerful administrators of the region. After he took the formal possession of

Kangra fort The Kangra Fort is located 20 kilometers from the town of Dharamsala on the outskirts of the town of Kangra, India. History Raja Dharam Chand submitted to the Mughal Ruler Akbar in 1556 and agreed to pay tr ...

, Maharaja Sansar Chand began to expand his territory. The states of

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People *Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer *Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana *Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India *Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh *Ch ...

, Suket,

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely sta ...

, and , Guler,

Jaswan Jaswan was a precolonial Indian state centred at Rajpur Jaswan, in modern-day Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, commanded by the Jaswal Rajput clan. It was founded in 1170 AD by Raja Purab Chand, a cadet of the Katoch lineage, ancient royal family of ...

Siba Siba or SIBA may refer to: Places * Siba, Luocheng County, Guangxi, China, a town * Siba State, a princely state of India until 1947 * Siba subdistrict, Basra Governorate, Iraq * Šiba, a village in Bardejov District, Slovakia * Siba Castle, ...

and

Datarpur Datarpur is a village situated in Mukerian Tehsil, Hoshiarpur District, Punjab (India). Datarpur State was a small precolonial Indian hill state in the Lower Himalayas. The state was founded around 1550 and was annexed by the British in 1849. Ne ...

came under the direct control of Maharaja Sansar Chand.

Anglo-Gorkha war

The

Gorkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

(martial tribe) came to power in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

in 1768. The

gorkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

consolidated their military power and expanded their territory. Over a period of time the

annexed Sirmour and

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

hill states. Under the leadership of

Amar Singh Thapa Amar Singh Thapa Chhetri distinguished as Badakaji Amar Singh Thapa( ne, बडाकाजी अमर सिंह थापा क्षेत्री), or Amar Singh Thapa The Elder, (also spelled Ambar Simha) also known by the honorific nam ...

laid their siege to Kangra. They defeated Maharaja Sansar Chand who was the ruler of Kangra, in 1806 with the help of hill chiefs. However,

were not able to capture

which came under the direct control of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After the defeat the

began to expand towards the southern provinces. This led to the Anglo-Gorkha war. They came into direct conflict with the British along the tarai belt after which the British expelled them. The British slowly emerged as the paramount powers in this conflict.

Anglo-Sikh war

After the ''Anglo-Gorkha war'' the common border shared by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

domain and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

became extremely sensitive. Both the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s and British wanted to avoid a direct conflict, but after the death of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

, the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

army fought numerous wars with the British. In 1845 when the Sikhs invaded the British territory by crossing the Satluj river, the rulers of many hill provinces sided with the British. Many of these hill state rulers entered into the secret communication with the British. After the first ''Anglo-sikh'' war, the British did not restore the hill territory, departed by the Sikhs, to the original owners.

References

{{History HP History of Himachal Pradesh Mughal Empire